ABSTRACT

The developing relationship the urban Church had with townspeople went beyond its pastoral role, of which there have been several notable studies. One might suspect that for most of the time these relationships were more constructive, if distant; even so, it is through the accounts of disagreements that he/she can perceive the shifting balance of power between religious house and urban secular authority. A dispute with the burgesses over whether the abbey was exempt from tolls in Gloucester was, however, more fundamental to their relationship. Superficially, the relationship between the secular authorities in Gloucester and the monks of St Peter's Abbey had many parallels with the situation in Worcester. For some years the patent rolls had contained reports of the activities in Worcestershire of what was described as a band of outlaws and troublemakers; the description of their criminal acts perhaps gives a one-sided picture of what may have been serious political unrest.